Domestic Abuse & The Workplace: A Potential New Employment Right

Domestic abuse can take the form of physical violence, emotional, coercive, psychological, economic or sexual abuse. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduced, for the first time, a statutory definition of domestic abuse. The act defines domestic abuse as behaviour that meets the following criteria:

• both the perpetrator and survivor are over 16 years old;
• they have a personal connection; and
• the behaviour includes physical, sexual, violent, threatening, controlling, coercive, economic, psychological, emotional or other forms of abuse.  

It is important to note that domestic abuse can happen to anyone and can be committed by anyone regardless of gender.

In 2022, it is believed that over 2 million adults in the UK experienced domestic abuse. Women are more likely to be a survivor of domestic abuse, with 84% of survivors being female. On average, it takes a survivor seven attempts to leave an abusive household before they succeed in leaving.

Domestic abuse is unfortunately heavily underreported with, it is believed, only approximately 24% of instances being reported to the police. Despite this, law enforcement reportedly receives a domestic abuse-related call a staggering every 30 seconds.

Potential Changes in Employment Law

Labour MP Alex McIntyre has recently introduced a private member’s bill to parliament.

The bill is called The Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Bill 2025, and it would introduce statutory paid leave for employees who are survivors of domestic abuse. This leave, known as “Paid Safe Leave,” would grant employees the right to take up to 10 days off work if they are experiencing domestic abuse. It is unclear yet whether the UK Government will support this bill and whether it will pass.

At Rix & Kay, our employment law team are monitoring this bill’s progress closely. Although this bill would be welcomed by our team, we think each case should be assessed individually to determine whether taking leave from work is the right course of action since  workplaces are often considered a safe space for survivors of domestic violence.

What are an Employer’s existing duties of care?

An employer owes a common law duty of care to their employees. In addition, being proactively concerned as to your employees’ well-being is key to promoting a good workplace culture and creating a happy workforce.

Employers also have a statutory duty to ensure the welfare of their employees whilst at work under The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and other UK health and safety legislation. This is increasingly linked to any concerns in relation to domestic abuse following a significant rise in remote and hybrid working since the pandemic. 

How Can Employers Support Employees Experiencing Domestic Violence?

ACAS has produced useful guidance to assist employers in navigating instances of domestic abuse.

There is much an employer can do to support their employees if they are experiencing domestic abuse. An employer can:

• educate and train themselves, their managers and their employees to identify the signs of domestic abuse;
• have a domestic abuse policy setting out procedures for employees and managers and signposting available support;
• learn how to respond to an employee who has disclosed instances of domestic abuse;
• understand the support available so that they can signpost and refer relevant employees;
• introduce a method of recording instances of domestic abuse, safeguarding employee confidentiality;
• understand what approach to take to employees who might be the perpetrators of domestic abuse – particularly if both the perpetrator and the survivor are employees of the same organisation;
• promote an open culture where staff feel comfortable;
•  maintain the workplace as a safe space (eg permitting survivors to meet counsellors and advisers in the workplace in order not to arouse suspicion); and
• introduce an approachable well-being champion who is trained to deal with domestic abuse issues.  

Benefits of Implementing a Domestic Abuse Policy

A domestic abuse policy can be a useful tool for managers dealing with employees who may be a survivor of domestic abuse and for employees who may wish to disclose their circumstances to a manager or take time away from work due to issues with domestic abuse.

A policy can educate staff by defining domestic abuse and clearly setting out the company’s commitment to assisting their employees with any issues they may face with regard to domestic abuse.

The policy can also set out procedures that can be triggered internally, for example, any domestic abuse leave policy that may be in place.

In addition, such a policy can set down the organisation’s stance on the perpetrators of domestic abuse, clearly setting out the business’s position on employees’ conduct at work and away from work.

The policy can signpost employees to relevant support agencies.

How Our Team Can Help

As mentioned above, we will be providing an update in relation to the progress of the Private Members Bill when this is available. 

If you are an employer and would like further information, please contact our employment law team. If you would like a bespoke domestic abuse policy, you can contact our GatekeeperHR team, who are specialist HR advisers.

If you are facing domestic abuse, our family team can offer tailored legal support with sensitivity and care, such as obtaining protective measures through the family court and in helping you take the next steps towards safety and stability.